Research Before You Buy
Researching a purchase before you buy can save you a bundle.
Listener Richard, an incoming college freshman who follows GetitDoneGuy on Twitter, knew I just returned from a 10-day retreat. He wrote:
Stever, did you do a write-up about your trip? If so, I’d love to read it.
Richard, this one’s for you. Today’s topic is Doing Your Homework.
Yes, I just got back from a glorious, 10-day “body-mind retreat.” My best friend from college invited me a year ago. “It’ll be wonderful,” he said. “We’ll lose weight, get exercise, and spend time together, all in a beautiful retreat center.”
I zipped over to the website and looked at the pictures. They were lovely. The daily schedule had aerobics, health classes, saunas (my favorite!), and swimming. Wow! I signed up early to get the discount. I was proud of my advance planning.
Time passed. The big day arrived. As the bus pulled into the Zen Center, I was floored. It was more beautiful than I could have imagined. Peacocks strolled by. At dawn, sunlight glittered off dew drops collected on Lotus petals, turning them into jeweled rainbows of light. Chipmunks played games of chase. After our wood-fired sauna, we slipped into a spring-fed pool under the full moon and fireflies danced around our heads. It was magical.
The next day, we learned that we would be eating a healthy diet with lots of home-grown veggies, doing yoga, squeezing our own vegetable juice, hiking through beautiful canyons, giving ourselves daily enemas, rebounding, …
Excuse me? What was that? Daily *what*? Suddenly, I started listening to what they were saying.
The freshly-juiced vegetable was wheatgrass, which is really, really yummy—if you’re a cow. And the all-veggie diet? Raw veggies–bland greens like celery, lettuce, and seaweed. Blended, in a blender, until the pieces are so small your digestive system doesn’t have to work at all to absorb the nutrients. They call it “energy soup.” I call it nature’s version of industrial runoff. This was not a retreat. Much to my horror, I discovered this was a “cleanse.”
The next ten days were … an experience. In the most beautiful setting imagined by human consciousness, I learned to make peace with my body in a way I’ve just never done before. Of course it was easy, since a calorie-deficient diet of nothing but parsley leaves you so weak and disoriented you’d make peace with a sabre-tooth tiger if you thought he’d give you chocolate afterwards.
In my few lucid moments, I kept asking where I went wrong. The answer: I didn’t do my homework. Don’t make my mistake. The astute listener will recall an episode where I suggested some decisions are best made by coin flip. That’s when the decision cost is more than what you’re deciding about. For me, decisions about what goes into, out-of, around, or through my body are worth the research cost. My body’s worth the effort. Especially if the decision is permanent, and especially if the involved body part will sag, stretch, or fade after a decade or two.
Next time you’re planning a decision with long-term or highly risky consequences, do your homework.
First, talk to people who have experience. First-hand experience. My college friend had never been to this retreat before.
Also, get several opinions. Spend some time on the Web looking for reviews–both good and bad reviews.
Plan your questions in advance. If you think you’re going to Club Med, ask about the experiences you expect from a fantastic vacation. For me, it’s the food, exercise options, beauty of the surroundings, and flexibility of schedule. Make a little list and research each category for each option.
Dig deep when you ask. Don’t just say, “Gee, tell me about the retreat.” They’ll tell you their top-of-mind impressions. And if they LOVE cleansing or if they’re a sociopathic masochist, they’ll give you a glowing report.
Ask about specifics. “What do you love about it?” “The food.” Too vague. You’re looking for answers you can imagine concretely. So dig deeper. “I love food, too! What was a typical meal?” If their answer contains words like “Rejuvelac,” start inching towards the exit and don’t make any sudden movements.
If there’s any possibility you don’t know a word they’ve using, ask. Don’t fake it. I thought a ‘colonic’ was a bubbly soft drink you ordered at a soda counter. No, that’s a ‘tonic.’ And a ‘living foods’ diet does not mean gourmet vegetarian cuisine, and ‘cleansing’ has nothing to do with washing behind your ears. Who knew? Certainly not I.
Make sure to ask about positives and negatives to get a well-rounded picture. “What was your least favorite part?” “They didn’t give me enough recipes.” “Recipes?” “Yes, for continuing the diet. After all, once you’ve detoxed, your body stops being able to digest meat, fat, sugar, caffeine, ice cream, potato chips, or anything else that gives life even a modicum of pleasure. So you have to eat this way for the rest of your life.” Useful information to have before you buy that ticket.
Remember you’re after facts and details; you don’t really care if those were things they loved or things they didn’t. That’s because tastes differ.
Once you’ve thoroughly done your homework, then make your decision. And if it turns out to be not what you expected, hey, you did your best. Now, it’s a learning experience.
And for all my horror at the cuisine, I came back from the retreat with my skin positively glowing. My energy’s been up and I’ve needed far less sleep. My mind’s rested, too. The retreat Zen Center really was the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. Thanks to the yoga, I can now touch my toes. And if they ever offer a plain old vacation retreat, I’ll be there in an instant.
But first, I’ll do my homework. I’ll read reviews, talk to multiple people who have direct, first-hand experience. My questions will cover both the good and the bad, and I’ll be listening more for the facts than for whether my peeps liked or disliked any particular part of the experience. After all, they say tomato, I say ‘not on my plate you don’t.’
This is Stever Robbins. Send questions about how to Work Less and Do More to getitdone@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email or leave voicemail at 866-WRK-LESS. Help with the Get-it-Done Guy book at blog.steverrobbins.com/getitdoneguy, or follow GetItDoneGuy on Twitter.
For information about keynote speeches, workshops, or other appearances, visit SteverRobbins.com for details.
Work Less, Do More, and have a Great Life!
RESOURCES:
– Episode on flipping a coin to make decisions
– The website of the Ann Wigmore raw foods diet
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
About the Author
Stever Robbins was the host of the podcast Get-it-Done Guy from 2007 to 2019. He is a graduate of W. Edward Deming’s Total Quality Management training program and a Certified Master Trainer Elite of NLP. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS in Computer Sciences from MIT.
